package org.as3search.properties {
	/*
	 * as3search - http://code.google.com/p/as3search
	 * Copyright (c) 2009-2010 by respective authors. All rights reserved.
	 *
	 * This library is free software; you can redistribute it and/or modify it under the
	 * terms of the GNU Lesser General Public License as published by the Free Software
	 * Foundation; either version 2.1 of the License, or (at your option) any later
	 * version.
	 *
	 * This library is distributed in the hope that it will be useful, but WITHOUT ANY
	 * WARRANTY; without even the implied warranty of MERCHANTABILITY or FITNESS FOR A
	 * PARTICULAR PURPOSE. See the GNU Lesser General Public License for more details.
	 *
	 * You should have received a copy of the GNU Lesser General Public License along
	 * with this library; if not, write to the Free Software Foundation, Inc.,
	 * 59 Temple Place, Suite 330, Boston, MA 02111-1307 USA
	 */
	
	/**
	 * <code>PropertyResolver</code> allows for complex, modular 
	 * resolution of properties within objects. Implementations
	 * are responsible for converting property names like "friend.info.phoneNumber"
	 * into an actual value. Most <code>Criterion</code> implementations
	 * depend upon the functionality of a property resolver to validate that
	 * conditions are met. 
	 * 
	 * @see org.as3search.criteria.SimpleExpression
	 * @see org.as3search.config.SearchConfiguration
	 */
	public interface PropertyResolver {
		/**
		 * Resolves and retrieves the value of the specified property on the 
		 * target object. 
		 * @param	propertyName	The name of the property to resolve, eg "parent.height"
		 * @param	target			The target to resolve the property of. 
		 * @return	Returns the value of the property. This will return null if the 
		 * 		property is null. 
		 */
		function resolveProperty(propertyName:String, target:Object):Object;
	}
}